Florida senior running back Chris Rainey took the opening kick 70 yards, but a holding penalty negated the return.

Early in the second quarter, Gators senior running back Jeff Demps returned a kick 99-yards for a touchdown — the second game in a row the Bulldogs allowed a kickoff go for a score.

Midway through the third quarter, Blair Walsh began kicking high and short, but even that strategy didn’t work. A short kick to wide receiver Andre Debose resulted in a 63-yard return, setting up a Florida field goal.

By the fourth, Walsh was squibbing the ball downfield.

“The way we were covering it was pretty poor at first,” said Georgia linebacker Alec Ogletree. “We tried to change things up with putting different guys in to cover the kick.”

The unit has struggled most of the season and entered the contest giving up an average of 21.2 yards per return.

THIN RECEIVING CORPS COMES THROUGH: Freshman wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell did not travel with the team after re-injuring his hamstring in practice earlier this week.

The team was also without receivers Rantavious Wooten (concussion) and Israel Troupe (knee).

Five receivers made a catch in the game, led by King’s three receptions for 44 yards.

“We all played and played well,” Bennett said. “We knew we had some guys out. We just had to step up and prove to the Florida defensive backs that they couldn’t stop us. They thought they could stop us, but we proved to them otherwise.”

Bennett started in Mitchell’s place, finishing with two catches for 25 yards.

Junior Marlon Brown had two catches for 20 yards. Freshman Chris Conley added three catches for 38 yards and walk-on Rhett McGowan added the first catch of his career.

Despite missing the past two games, Mitchell is still the team leader with 435 receiving yards on 25 receptions and three touchdowns.

THIS AND THAT: Redshirt sophomore offensive guard Dallas Lee injured his ankle and missed most of the second half. His parents were seen looking at X-rays following the game. UGA sports information said that Lee had a fracture in his right leg fibula. … Ogletree started for the first time since injuring his foot in the season opener against Boise State. … Three Florida quarterbacks — John Brantley, Trey Burton and Jacoby Brissett — took snaps in the game. … Former Georgia players John Brantley (1984-87) and Bill Saye (1953-55) were inducted into the Georgia-Florida Hall of Fame. … The attendance for the game, 84,524, was up 80 people from a year ago.